I didn't ask the CEO ...

A a presentation by the CEO, all warehouse and office staff on the site were there, sitting on wedding style chairs as we were subjected to a speech by the CEO about how the merger has been successful in maintaining the company's position in the changing market of book publishing.  He announced higher than forecast profits of 6% (for which word has it that the full time staff will receive a bonus) and that the company made a profit of £69 million and that this was good as it would strengthen the company in terms of ... he listed some areas of business that went over my head the but one resonated loud and clear and set off a massive siren in my whole body was that this level of profit would serve to enable job security among the company's employees ...

well did he realize he was addressing warehouse staff working tenuous contracts for minimum wage?

I formulated a question in my head, ' Mr Well Done, please explain how this £69nmillion profit relates to job security for warehouse staff on 7 and half hours/week contracts at a rate that is below a living wage?'

I sat there formulating just the right phrasing to make my point direct and articulate, which was pretty straightforward, I have to say and then I talked myself through a motivational exercise along the lines of, only regret the things you haven't done, just take one small step at a time, the first is simply to stand up and gesture that I have something to say, the rest would just follow:

the moment for questions came and one person asked about working with 2 computer systems and then the meeting wound up, people clapped, I didn't, and neither did those sitting around me,

I hadn't moved.

I hadn't moved.

I hadn't moved.

I didn't act.

I was dumb.

I was mute.  I was inert.

Damn me, damn me damn damn me, I let that opportunity pass, the moment when I had a chance to speak out, to make a difference, I had the chance of an audience with all the staff on the site and someone in management and I just sat there on the golden chair clutching the goody bag.

The goody bag had Nigella Lawson's book Nigellissima, ISBN 9780701187330, I love the way Nigella writes so candidly about food and eating, not that I can really afford to by the ingredients to actually practice her recipes, it's a diet of lentils and boiled eggs for me, but the book is suitably aspirational and I like the pictures, she doesn't mess around with mixing colours on the plate, the food in most of the cooking books we pack looks to me like a plate of vomit.

Fuck them.

And their bloody core values the most celebrated of which was HEART-

HEAVY EXPLOITATION AND REAL TYRANNY - corporation halfwit fuckers, bunch of idiots wearing cuff links and serving the stakeholders and investors.